Gates opened at Hubbard Creek to begin letting out water

This morning, six gates were opened at Big Sandy and Hubbard Creek to begin letting out water in an attempt to return it back to normal levels, according to officials from the West Central Texas Municipal Water District.

This morning, Hubbard Creek sat at 1,183.28 feet of water. In accordance with permits with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the legal limit to allow the creek to get to is 1,183.31. The WCTMWD's General Manager Chris Wingert said the gates were reduced to three around 11 a.m. Wingert said legal limitations from the TCEQ allows a certain amount of water to be impounded. Once the level gets close to that limit, they begin letting water out at the same rate it has been coming in.

According to a Facebook post from the district, they are trying to discharge a total of 4,243 cubic-feet per second, as Hubbard Creek 2,680 cfs incoming and Big Sandy has 1,120 cfs, totaling 3,810 cfs.

While Wingert stressed he is just following the law and is required to monitor the water levels in this fashion and in accordance with the TCEQ, several people are voicing disdain for the water drainage. Several comments on the Facebook page consist of people voicing concerns about letting water drain out, despite how badly water has been needed in recent months.

"So are we going to be a foot low when you shut the gates," said Mike Schooler in a Facebook comment. "Whoever makes these decisions needs to be fired. This is west Texas and we should be keeping every single drop of water possible as long as houses are not being flooded."

The discharge of water comes from the rains Breckenridge and West Texas had yesterday, which totaled a little more than half an inch in Stephens County, according to Weather Underground.